About Our Cheese
FRESH CHEESE
Our Lactic Spreadables
Fresco:
Queso Fresco. Just the name makes us think about warm summer evenings and fresh salads. This tart and creamy pressed mozzarella is the perfect workhorse cheese for all your cooking needs. It’s ready made for a seasonal salad like Caprese but just as happy along side roasted beats and the hearty dishes like lasagna that keep us going in winter.
Fromage Frais :250g ($6)
A creamy cow cream cheese in a french style but can easily be adapted to your menu (a creamy buttery canvas to be explored!)
Plane Jane: (formally Chevre): 250g/1kg ($7/$25)
Our Plain Jane is the perfect introduction into the world of goats cheese but still loved by the seasoned expert. Creamy, tangy and smooth, Monforte chevre comes in enough intriguing flavors to keep your guests asking for the recipe. Forget everything you knew about supermarket logs of cream cheese that tasted like tin and smelled like a wet goat.
Morita: 250g ($7)
Smoked chipotles and lime oil provide a tangy sneaky heat to our chevre that builds the more you try. It offers just enough fire without frightening anyone off.
Lemon Succor: 250g ($7)
We’ve added lemon zest and lemon oil to our chevre that makes a perfect match for smoked fish and brunch.
Elsie: 250g ($7)
Mixing chevre with a nut free pesto, Elsie offers a verdant finish that suits fresh pasta and bagels equally well.
Water Buffalo or Goat Fresco: 250g ($30kg)
Fresh, unpressed , pure and beautiful, softish texture.
Etafay Goat Feta: 300g/1kg ($10/$32)
Medium dryness, medium salt. BIG Summer hit (especially in Watermelon season) Monforte's feta would have been perfect for Goldilocks. Just the right amount of salt and just the right dryness make this a great addition to salads and perfect for cooking without being so dry as to crumble away completely.
HALLOUMI
Monforte’s Water Buffalo halloumi isn’t like what you’ll find at your local supermarket. While that generally holds true for all our products, we most often hear it about our Halloumi. Unlike the heavily-salted variety you’re apt to find in a grocery store, ours is carefully low in salt. Best used with salads and sandwiches, our halloumi is made to pan sear to a golden brown. It’s even better marinaded!
RICOTTA (OUT OF STOCK UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where there’s halloumi there’s ricotta. When we poach our whey to cook your favourite summertime cheese we get a lovely present at the same time, straining the whey yields a wonderfully mild ricotta. Its silky texture is ideal for pasta dishes. You won’t see it often, but when you do check to see if it’s salted or unsalted!
Water Buffalo Yogurt : 500ml/1lt ($6/10)
For those of you who enjoy yogourt, our Water Buffalo version is either a blessing or a curse. Clocking in at 8% milk fat this tart (mix) is perfect for those looking for a little extra oomph to their diet. It’s (thinner) texture lends itself for the ideal morning smoothy.
AGED CHEESES (All aged cheeses are $40kg)
Providence
2.5kg Brick.
Our cow Saler is Tangy, creamy, young and delicious. This Providence cuts and melts beautifully. While we can’t legally call our Saler a Cheddar, it’ll make you think of one all the same. Quota rules and regulations aside, Providence answers all your sandwich-filling, grilled cheese-melting, or party-planning needs. It’s bright, creamy, and quite literally gets better ever single day. By the time this staple is two years old you’ll be ready to swear off all other Cheddars for good. At which point we’ll quote Kathleen Wynne... #sorrynotsorry.
Purgatory (Goat Cheddar) (OUT OF STOCK UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where the Providence might not “legally” be able to claim the name Cheddar, our goat has no such problems. The paste is brilliant white like a cheddar should be, dry and firm as well. The flavors are tangy and nutty but, like Providence, this cheese will only get better with age.
2.5kg
Emmot (Goat Tomme)
1.6kg round.
Unlike the soft texture of our Cow Tomme, the Goat is dry and biting. In addition to being a fine table cheese it lends itself well to grating for pastas and salad. The older this tomme gets the drier it becomes, so make sure to ask how mature your cheese is!
Amos (Cow Tomme)
1.6kg round.
The Monforte Tomme De Savoie is a wild aged cheese with a washed curd, making it softer than some of our others Tommes. Its paste is golden and tangy. Normally aged for six months, it’s an easy addition to any cheese board.
Drunk Buffalo (Bacchus)
2kg round
We can only presume that this goat cheese doesn’t complain about being soaked in red wine for three days. The rind is a deep burgundy which contrasts beautifully with the vibrant white centre. Whether you use this cheese on a board or in your salads, you’ll want to make sure you eat the rind. Deep floral notes from the wine pair nicely with the bright tanginess of its soft inner paste.
Where our Bacchus is subtle, the Drunken Buffalo makes more of a scene. We soak it in Stratford's own Black Swan Porter -- a thick brown beer that gives the rind a bittersweet flavor. The paste is speckled with fenugreek seeds, giving it a caramel nuttiness that works perfectly with the rind. As with the Bacchus, make sure you indulge in the whole cheese!
Tomme Forte
1.5kg round.
This version of tomme is water buffalo and our oldest cheese on offer at the moment. Nutty and complex, perfectly aged (great parm substitute)
HodgePodge
1.6kg round.
On days when the milk delivery schedule gets thrown out the window, Hodge Podge is Monforte's answer to the question “What do we do with all this milk?” This wild aged Tomme will combine several milks and have a layer of peppercorns in the centre, lending a citrusy flavor to an already interesting cheese. Hodge Podge is always an adventure!
Nocino (Fontina)
1.6kg round.
Monforte’s Water Buffalo Nocino is a bit of an imposter of its name sake. Its semi-firm texture is distinct from some of our harder, aged cheeses. Speckled throughout are fenugreek seeds that blend caramel and walnut flavors into the mix. Have you ever been interested in naming a cheese? Now is your chance! Send us your suggestions and we’ll give you your fifteen minutes of fame!
Little Boy Blue
1.6kg round
A perfect introduction into the world of blue cheese. This gateway blue is made from goats milk and has a creamy, supple texture and a gentle palette with nutty tasting notes. It’s a blue you can bring home to your parents.
SOFT CHEESES (All surface ripened cheeses are $40kg)
Golden Child: 1kg round.
A cow's milk taleggio , washed with whey, the rind has a beautiful yeasty flavor. The paste is creamy and supple and melts beautifully. If you see any yellow or red bites its because we added Saffron as well!
FUEGO:
A liberal handful of smoked paprika lends this semi-firm goats cheese both its colour and flavour. It’s creamy soft texture is perfect for anything that requires either a melting cheese or smokey flavor. Nachos and grilled cheese should get in line. For those looking to buck tradition, try using this for your next racelette party.
Big Momma- 1.6kg
If you’re looking to impress folks at your next party you can’t go wrong with the Big Momma. This double decker surface ripened cheese is made from water buffalo milk with a flourish of ash beneath the rind and through the centre. The Big Momma is a subtle cheese with a nutty finish and an elegant addition to any cheese board.
Delilah 200g rounds
Our cow’s milk Delilah is a gentle addition to any cheese board but works even better for melting. This taleggio style has hardly been aged, has a firmer texture with a yeasty, tart flavor. You’ll find hints of saffron that lend the paste a savoury finesse.
Piacere: 1kg round.
The Piacere is back, now made with water buffalo milk. This cheese is a true Monforte classic, one of the first! Aged like a Fleur de Marquis, the rind is coated in rosemary, summer savoury, and a sprinkle of chili flakes for just a touch of heat. Those not in love with rosemary need not apply. For everyone else, this is a cheese not to be missed.
ROSE D’AMOUR: 1.5 kg round
Made from water buffalo milk this surface ripened cheese is encrusted with pink peppercorns giving it a citrus flavor without the heat. The vibrant color of the peppercorns balance perfectly against the sharp white paste.
Waltzing Matilda/Matilda in the Buff: 200g rounds
This Water Buffalo Camembert will make you decide where your loyalties to the name Matilda lay. Tom Waits’ gravelly rasp, or a patriotic love of Australia? For an elegant dinner party, choose the Waltzing Matilda with a delicate layer of ash under it’s bloomy rind. For the more casual family affair, the Matilda in the Buff will do just fine. Both of these cheeses age beautifully and become supple and creamy in their hinter years (weeks). Honey pairs perfectly with their nutty flavor.
Savoir Faire (Torta): 200g rounds.
Our answer to the cows milk Camembert. This surface ripened cheese is supple and creamy and gets better every day it ages. It’s rich, buttery texture and flavor pairs perfectly with preserves, jams, and honey.
INDISCRETION: 1kg round
Ruth is often famously quoted as saying she loves vermouth because it makes her prone to indiscretion. This washed rind cheese has a firm texture with a fragrant rind from the repeated washing with vermouth. If you ever visit the dairy and notice the smell of hard liquor, chances are we aren’t only enjoying ourselves, we’re just “washing” cheese.
Water Buffalo Piacere: 1.2kg round. A water buffalo surface ripened cheese with Rosemary, Summer Savory and Chili flakes aged in our wild room so it gets awesome blue and green molds as well (Don't be scared!)
Goat Camembert: 200-250g rounds
A natural fuzzy penicillin rind, a tangy goat goddess. This elegant but simple surface ripened Camembert works as a table cheese or an appetizer, baked in the oven for fifteen minutes.
Gruff (Little Kid): 200-250g rounds
For those looking to enjoy a surface ripened Camembert with a layer of ash, this little goat fits the bill. Unlike other Camemberts, Little Kid ages soft and runny, making it ideal for an adventurous cheese board. Have some crusty bread close at hand!
Billy: (formally Goat Camembert) 220-275g rounds with a natural fuzzy penicillin rind, a tangy goat goddess.
DAVID MARTIN SUMMER SAUSAGE AND PEPPERETTES
One of our earliest supporters and friends is David E. Martin. As an Old Order Mennonite farmer, David has always been near and dear to both our hearts and our ethics. The pigs he raises are regular staples in our fridges and freezers, and you can find his whey-fed cured meats on our market tables. Hailing from Perth County (aka Mennonite country), we take our summer sausage seriously and David’s is some of the best we’ve ever had.